Cane cleaning device



Aug- 15 1939 c. F. DAHLBERG ET AL 2,169,522

CANE CLEANING DEVICE Filed April 11, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet l nventors U8 15, 1939. c. F. DAHLBERG ET AL. 2,169,522

CANE CLEANING DEVICE t Fi'led April ll, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i lilla-I g Jnventors c. F. DAHLBl-:RG AL 2,169,522

` Aug. 15, 1939.

CANE CLEANING DEVICE Filed April ll, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Aug. 15, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CANE CLEANING DEVICE Application April 11, 1938, Serial No. 201,440

3 Claims.

This invention relates to cane cleaning and cutting devices and is a continuation in part of our copending application, Serial No. 146,304, filed June 3, 1937.

In our co-pending case above referred to, the driving mechanism for the knife and the conveyor which feeds the cane to the knife are disposed below such knife and conveyor. This required a deep pit, and it was also found that the driving apparatus received the dirt and trash which was obviously undesirable.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to rearrange and reconstruct the apparatus whereby the operating mechanism for the knife and conveyor are disposed above these parts, thus eliminating the deep pit, and moreover maintaining the driving apparatus free from dirt, trash and other foreign matter.

In so rearranging the driving or operating mechanism from the position below to that above the knife and conveyor or carrier, vcertain reconstructions have been found desirable, and in such reconstruction it has been our object to secure the proper motion uniformly accelerated to prevent excessive strains in the driving mechanism and, at the same time, yield a shorter time for completing each intermittent movement of the'conveyor or carrier.

A further objectl of the invention is to provide an improved intermittent operating device for the conveyor or carrier.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved feeding means for the cane which is so constructed that the movement of the cane in the direction of the knives may be varied at will so that any desired quantity of cane may be fed to the cutting means.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a counter-balanced knife operating structure so `as to eliminate vibration occasioned by connecting the knife structure to a bell crank or the like.

With the foregoing and other objects: in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings', in which like reference charaoters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a detail side elevation partly broken away and in section of a sugar cane cutting and cleaning means constructed according to an ernbodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a detail top plan of the device.

figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan of the (Cl. 14S-155) feedoperating leverV for feeding the uncut sugar cane to the cutting means.

Figure 4 is a detail side elevation partly in section of the structure shown in Figure 3.`

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan partly 5 broken away and in section of the feeding means for feeding the cane to the cutting knives.

Figure 6 is a detail side elevation p-artly broken away of the feeding structure shown in Figure 5 when the operating lever is at its lowermost or 10 inoperative stroke.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but showing the feeding means when the operator is at the top of its operating stroke. A

Figure 8 is a perspectiveview of the cam lever engaging one of the clamping shoes forming part of the feeding mechanism. n

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the clamping shoe engaged with the cam lever shown in Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a second or opposed clamping shoe.

Referring to the drawings the numeral I5 designates generally a frame structure comprising upright posts or beams I6, I1 and I8. .A platform structure generally designated as I9 is secured to the upper ends of the uprights or posts I6, I1 and I8.

As viewed in Figure 1, the uncut sugar cane enters from the left, being positioned on a car- 30 rier or conveyor generally designated as 20. The sugar cane then moves forwardly with the carrier 20 aslwill be hereinafter described, and engages on a table ZI positioned forwardly of the adjacent end of the carrier 20. A vertically 35 slidable knife structure 22 is slidable ink vertically disposed guides 23 carried by uprights 24. The knifestructure 22 comprises a plurality of knives or blades 25 mounted on a frame 26 which is slidable in the guides 23. Y

The knives 25 are adapted to out the sugar cane into predetermined short lengths and these cut pieces are then discharged olf from the table 2I onto the lower end of an endless conveyor 26,. The conveyor 26' is mounted in a housing 21 which also substantially encloses the table 2I and a portion of the frame structure about the knives 25. The lower end of the conveyor 2B' isV mounted on a sprocket 28 and the upper end of the conveyor 26 is mounted on a sprocket 29 which is operated by means of a pulley 30 secured to a shaft 3| upon which the sprocket 29 is mounted.

A driving mechanism 32 is provided with a relatively small pulley 33 over which a belt 34 Y is trained and thisv belt engages a larger pulley 40 and a cane `cleaning mechanism generally l designated as 4| 'which Vis similar tothe cleaning mechanism embodied in my co-pending-application hereinbefore referred toreceives the out cane from the hopper 40. nism is operated by means of beltsor'ilexible driving means 42 and 43which engage pulleys The cleaning mecha?V 14. Y

Y 'Y an upward direction will move the shoe 14 toward are formed with rings 84 which are also provided with opposed parallel or at portions S5. The rings 84 are mountedy relatively loosely on collars 19 so that the associated arms 16 and 1l may have movement transverse orV diametric to the shaft 12. The side arms 16 and`11 are rigidly bolted together at the end adjacent the shoe 14 by means of bolts 85 and a distance piece 86'. A cam lever 86 is rockably mounted by means vci trunnions 81 between the levers 16 and 11 and the cam portion 88 of the lever 86 engages in a seat or concave recess 89 provided in the shoe In this manner, rocking of the lever 86 in theperiphery` of the drum 13 and in like manner,

44 and 45 respectively,A whichfare mounted on Y the pressure of the shoe 14 on the drum 13 will shafts carrying rotatable brushes or the like.

' The belts 42 and 43 are connected to pulleys 46 on a shaft 41 which is driven by a belt 4B. The

belt 48 is trained over a driven pulley Mlfse-V A suction fan 5|l is connected on the suction f side thereof by means of a .pipe..52 Vtotheoutlet end 53Y ofthe cleaning-means` V4|'v and the opposite side of the fan or blower 5| is connected to eand-are disposed between-apair of" parallela discharge` pipe 54 which may be carried to a 'suitable point so that Vthe dirtor yother material Vof the conveyor 26 andthe. cleaning mechanism 4L, A nipple 60 is connected to thesuctionpipe 52 and provided. with a Vfla`.pfvalve or. closurel6| so `that sand; dirt" or the "like, which collectsfrin this nipple or collector 60.may `be readily-ldischarged'therefrom. Y Y Y A conntershaft 62 .is rotatably mounted in -bearings 63 carried by the platform Y|9and this conne tershaft 62/is-connectedto the drive shaft 51 bya train of Vgearsincluding gears64,V 65, 66 and 61. In tl'L's manner, the countershaft 62 isdriven at a relatively slow speed'as comparedto the drive shaft 51. .A bell crank or lever 68? is `Ysecured to theshaft 62anda counterweight 69 is carried by the shaft 62--and extends radially inra direction Opposite from. the crank or lever 66; The crank or lever 68 is connected/to the knife frame 22 bymeans of a connectnglink or bar 1U soV that rotating of thelever 68 willfeffectreciprocation of the knife frame 22. Y

I'he forward end 4of the conveyor'or carrier 20 is trainedovena sprocket 1| which -ismounted on aAshaftj1-2. A carrierdriving discl 13'qis' secured to the shaft 12 at one end thereof Aand this drum 13 Visperiodically'rotated loymeansl of' a pair of clampingjshoes 14 and15; The shoes 14 arms. 16 and; 11 Vwhich arefpositioned on opposite sides of-*the drum 13.' The shoe`15 is'secured toia bolt or-shaft 18-V at" one en'dfof'the'rockiarms 16 and"|1.Y Y

A Ypair Yof collars 19'Y are'rotatably'mou'nted 'on the hub'portionV 80 of the drum 13 andareheld against endwise movement by meansof holding plates 8| 'which'are secured' to the hub'by means ofj'bolts 82. Thecollars 19, asshown in Figures 6 and 7, are each provided with Vdia-` metrically opposed? p'arallekor` flat Vportions 83 i and the centralportions of? the arms16'and1l effect reverse movement of the rock levers 16 and 11 so as to simultaneously effect engagement of the shoe 15 with the opposite part of the drum 13.. In this manner, the levers 16. and 11 will be locked tothe drum 13 so that further upward rocking oilthe lever 86 will cause the drum 13 and the shaft .12 tobe rotated.

The rock lever 86 is pulled upwardly by means of a rock lever. or conveyor operating member, generally designated as YSi). The operating lever 9|),Y asV shown in Figures 3 and 4, comprises a pair of elongatedrbars or levers.9| and 9 2-which are pivoted at one end on a bearing 93 carriedl by a beam structure 94. The two levers 3| and 92 have disposed therebetween a roller 95r at the opposite end thereof which engages ra lifting cam 96 mounted on the countershaft 62. The levers 9| and '92 are providedwith aplurality of spaced apart holes 91 adjacent the-roller 95 and. a link or reach rod 98Uis -pivotallyfsecuredtoa selected pair of holes Blandis also secured as vat'its lower end to a crankSeQ.- securedtoashaft |06. The shaft 68, extends horizontally between a pairY Yof upright-postsvl being securedrto a horizontal beam |0|. The shaftl also has` a relatively long crank or lever=|||2 secured thereto and a second link or reach rod |03 connects the outer end of the crank |62 to the cam lever'86. Y

gPreferably, the-crank 96v is vrelatively shorter thanthe crank |32- so that a relatively'long` swinging movement is provided at thevouterend of the crank or lever |62 in order toprovide-the desired `rotation of the shaft '12.` 'Ihellifting cam 96ii's'constructed'with` a relatively abrupt cam face so Ythat the liftingmovement of the operaating lever 90is effected quickly "and this cam. is

ytimed with respect to the crank 68 sojthat the uncut cane is pushed forwardly over the table 2| 'when'the knives 25' are near their upermost position. Kg y In the operation of the device, cane fed toV words the cam is so arranged that' its high point rapidly Yraises the lifting bar Suas indicated in Figure 4 and this imparts the`desiredV fraction of intermittent movement to the conveyori 2U in a shorter space of time than would be possible with an eccentric. "Moreover the cam yields the proper motion uniformly accelerated to prevent .excessive strains in the 'drivingmechanismf L Aslthe Cam-.96 rotatesin the dirctioniof l the arrow in Figure 4, the lifting bar 90 will be raised at its free roller end 95 and about its pivoted end. This action raises the reach rod 98. 'I'he reach rod draws upwardly upon the bell crank 99, |02. 'I'his bell crank raises the reach rod |03. The reach rod |03 is connected to the friction intermittent operating means shown in Figures 5 to 10 inclusive.

As shown in Figure 7, when the reach rod |03 is pulled upwardly, the rock lever 86 is swung about its pivot 81 causing the cam or nose 88 to force the shoe 14 against the outer periphery of the drum or disc 13 and to also cause a diametric shifting of the yoke constituted by the arms 16 and 11 to a position where the companion shoe 15 at the diametric opposite point from shoe 14 will also be drawn into frictional contact with the outer periphery of the disc or drum 13.

' The initial upward movement of rea-ch rod |03 willthus cause engagement of the twol shoes with the drum and the further upward movement of the reach rod will cause the drum 13 to be rotated around -a suitable angular distance in the direction of the arrow in Figure 6. Figures 6 and '7 indicate an angular distance of the intermittent movement of the carrier or conveyor 20. The drum 13 is keyed to the conveyor shaft 12 as by the spline or key 13.

The hub of the disc at opposite sides of said disc is machined perfectly round to fit the inside of the collars 19 on which the arms 16 and 11 are mounted. The clearance at 80 in Figure 6 will allow of the floating diametrical movement of the arms 16 and 11 diametrically of the shaft 12 whereby to permit the loosening and the gripping movements of the shoes 14 and 15 upon the drum 13. The clearance is secured by making the bore of the rings 84 a littlelarger than the outside diameter of the collars 19.

In other words when an upward pull is exerted on the rock lever 86 the shoe 14 will be pressed against the disc, the reaction of which pressure pulls the side arms 16 and 11 or yoke in the direction of the arrow in Figure 6, causing the arms or yoke to slide diarn'etricallyv on the collars 19 along the flat surfaces 83. 'Ihis motion carries with it friction shoe 15 and jams the same against the rim of the disc 13. It is clear that this action will immediately lock the friction shoes 14|v and 15 to the rim of the disc 13, which will cause disc 13 to rotate and carry with it the shaft 12 as upward movement is continued by the pull upon the reach rod |03. When the extreme upward movement has been completed, the shaft 12 will have turned through a predetermined angle which may be varied by adjusting the reach rod 98 in a selected perforation 91 as shown in Figure ,4.

When the motion is reversed by the oscillating bar dropping as a consequence of the passage of the high point of the cam downwardly from the roller 95, it is clear that the pressure of the rock lever 86 against the shoe 14 will be released, which will in turn release the force of the shoe 14 on the rim of the disc 13, as well as that of the shoe 15; and the mechanism will be returned to its original position by the rotation of the collars 19 on the hub of the disc 13 along the smooth machined surfaces 14. The yoke comprising the arms 16 and 11 .and the shoes carried thereby may thereupon oscillate back to the initial posi tion indicated in Figure 6 without communicating any motion in this retrograde direction to the disc 13.

Thus, as an oscillatory motion is imparted to the yoke, intermittent rotation of disc 13 and consequently of shaft 12 will take place, always in the same direction.

Thus the uncut cane, positioned on the carrier 20 is advanced step by step to the knives. The cut pieces of cane will drop downwardly into the carrier 26' which, as shown in Figure l, is provided with transverse cleats so that the pieces of cane will be moved upwardly and discharged into the hopper 40. From this point the cane with any leaves, grass or other foreign matter entrained therewith are delivered to the cleaning device 4| which is in accordance with the disclosure of the pending application above referred to. The lighter particles including leaves, grass and dust, will then be drawn out of the discharge end of the cleaner 4| by the suction pipe 52. The cleaned and cut cane will fall into a depository provided for the purpose, in connection with which there may be a conveyor, such for instance as the carrier 49, shown in Figure 4 of our copending application.

Rotation of the shaft 62 will cause the cranks or counterweighted arms 68 to be rotated, thus communicating a reciprocating movement to the knife structure 22 through the medium of the links 10. It will be noted therefore that the same shaft 62 controls the knife movement and the intermittent movement of conveyor 20 whereby wthe movement of the knife structure 22 is timed with respect to the movement ofthe carrier 20 so that when the knife structure 22 is in the upper position, the carrier will be moved through one of its intermittent actions, and the conveyor will b stationary when the knife descends.

The counterweighted crank arm |58 takes the place of the disc 23 in the pending application as such counterweighted arm contributes to the more uniform action of the knife structure and tends to balance the parts and to eliminate vibration in the operation.

It is obvious that various changes and modications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims:

'What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the kind described, a path of movement for cane and entrained material including a carrier, a table extending 01T the delivery end of said carrier, an elevator pit extending off the end of the table at the other side of said carrier, an elevator for raising the cut cane out of said pit, a vertically reciprocating knife device disposed above said table, means wholly above the knife device for vertically reciprocating the same, intermittent means associated with the delivery end of said carrier for imparting step by step movement to the carrier, actuating means for said intermittent means located wholly above said carrier, said knife operating means and said carrier actuating means comprising in common a platform mounted remotely above said carrier and table, a shaft journaled on said platform, means for rotating said shaft, a counter-weighted arm on said shaft, a link connecting said arm with the knife device at the upper portion of the latter, a cam on said shaft, a lever pivoted on said platform and having an end portion riding on said cam and raised and lowered thereby, a link connected to said lever, a short rock arm connected to said link, a long rock arm moved by said short rock arm, and a link connection between said long rock arm and said intermittent drive means.

2.In a device 'of the kind described, an elevator pit, an elevator for raising the cut cane and 'entrained matter from said pit, a knife table supported at an Velevation above said pit with a delivery end partly overhanging the pit, an endless carrier in line with said table at the other side from the pit for advancing the uncut cane and entrained matter to said table, intermittent drive means for moving the carrier step by step, a vertically reciprocating knife device directly above said table for cutting the cane, actuating means for said knife device, operating means for said intermittent drive means, said actuating and operating means being conjoint and timed in operation and consequently comprising a single operating shaft located at a considerable height above said table and carrier, means to drive said operating shaft, a counter-weighted crank arm xed to rotate with said shaft, a link connection between said crank arm and the upper end portion of said knife device, a cam fixed on said shaft, a lever positioned to -be raised and lowered by said cam, a link adjustably connected to said leverA for Vvariable throw, a short rock arm connected also to said last named link, a long rock arm actuated by said short rock arm, and a link connected between said long rock arm and said intermittent drive means at one Aside of the carrier.

' 3; In a vdevice as described, a supporting structure, Va knife table supported at an elevation above said supporting structure, an elevator pit lpartly beneath one side of said elevated knife table, an endless carrier at the other side of said table substantially in alinement therewith for delivering the uncut cane and entrained matter to said table, an intermittent drive device for said carrier, a vertically reciprocating knife above said table, and conjoint timed operating means for said knife and for the intermittent drive device, said operating means comprising a single operating shaft, means to rotate said shaft, a cam on said shaft, a lever positioned to be `lifted and lowered by said cam, connections between said lever and intermittent drive device for multiplying` the lifting motion of said lever to the sweep of said intermittent drive device, said connections being to the side of said carrier and out of the path of the cane and entrainedrmatter, ar counterweighted crank arm on said shaft, and a connection between said crank arm and the'upper portion of the vertically reciprocating knife device.

JOSEPH J. MUNSON. CARL F. DAHLBERG.

Vzo 

